Frankfurt and Wiesbaden: New Hydrogen refuelling stations link north and south Germany

Trade News

H2 MOBILITY partners open two new hydrogen (H2) stations in the Rhine-Main Area

German H2 refuelling stationnetwork grows to 30

Up to 400 stations scheduled for 2023

German government contributes EUR 1.6 million

Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, 14 June 2017 – Fuel cell electric vehicles welcome: The joint venture H2 Mobility Deutschland and its partners Air Liquide, Daimler, Linde and Shell officially opened two new hydrogen refuelling stations today in Frankfurt and Wiesbaden. The German federal state of Hesse now has a total of five H2 filling stations for emission-free fuel cell vehicles. With these new stations, the partners have moved yet another step closer to a nationwide H2 supply network. The new sites are both conveniently located directly on the A661 and A66 motorways at key points of intersection for people driving from north to south through Germany.

H2 Mobility commissioned the new hydrogen station in Frankfurt's Hanauer Landstrasse 334 while Daimler AG is the owner of the filling station in Wiesbaden’s Borsigstrasse 1. The innovative H2 handling technology hails from two of the big names in this sector: Air Liquide respectively Linde. Both stations are located on Shell premises.

If hydrogen mobility is to be a success, the market has to offer an attractive range of fuel cell vehicles alongside a complementary refuelling infrastructure. Thanks to financial support from the German government via its National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP), Germany now has a total of 30 hydrogen refuelling stations. Overall, the German government has invested some EUR 1.6 million in the two new stations. By 2018, there should already be 100 stations. The cornerstone for the expansion of Germany’s hydrogen infrastructure was laid by the trailblazing demonstration project Clean Energy Partnership (CEP) which set out joint standards and norms.

The two cutting-edge H2 filling stations in Wiesbaden and Frankfurt offer drivers an intuitive fuelling experience similar to facilities for conventional vehicles. It takes between three to five minutes to fill up a fuel cell vehicle. Both stations have the capacity to serve 40 FCEVs every day.

A hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle does not emit any tailpipe GHGs or other pollutants. A number of manufacturers already have hydrogen FCEVs on offer with an operating range of between 500 and 700 kilometres. Daimler AG is set to present its latest generation of vehicles based on the Mercedes-Benz GLC this year.

In Germany, hydrogen features particularly strongly in the climate debate. An eco-friendly addition to the range of fuels on offer in the transport sector, renewably generated hydrogen can bring about a substantial reduction in the volume of climate-noxious CO2 emissions

Outlook
At present, Germany has another 27 hydrogen stations in the pipeline or under construction. This year, for example, H2 Mobility and its partner companies are due to unveil filling stations in Kassel, Bremen and Wendlingen. And more are planned for the Stuttgart, Karlsruhe and Munich areas.

A well-attended opening
Many representatives from the field of politics and industry came to the launch of the Wiesbaden and Frankfurt stations:

Norbert Barthle, Parliamentary State Secretary with Germany's Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI)
'Electromobility with fuel cells essentially means clean mobility, quick refuelling and a long distance range. To get more of these cars on our roads, we need a large H2 refuelling network in Germany – in the metropolitan areas, along our motorways but also everywhere else, too. Integrating H2 stations in conventional petrol service stations is a major step forward for hydrogen mobility.

Stijn van Els, Management Board Chairman Shell Deutschland Oil GmbH:
'Hydrogen technology is a very promising technology and H2 a fuel of the future. We believe this alternative drive system will play an increasingly important role in markets like Germany, England, Benelux and the USA as of 2020. We at Shell are on target.'

Pierre-Etienne Franc, Vice-President Air Liquide Advanced Business and Technologies:
Hydrogen energy contributes to efficiently decarbonise the transport sector, which is one of the main sources of air pollution in our cities. Together, industry and government has made a strong commitment to accelerate the deployment of hydrogen for cleaner mobility in Germany. As a founding partner of H2 Mobility, Air Liquide brings its expertise to support the construction of the world's largest hydrogen station network. This new station opened with Shell in Frankfurt is another demonstration that hydrogen is now a reality.'

Dr. Mathias Kranz, Head of Application Technology, Linde AG:
'Linde uses many proprietary, modular and compact hydrogen fuelling components that can easily be integrated into existing station layouts. This gives us full confidence that together with our partners we will take environmentally friendly hydrogen mobility to the next level.'

Prof. Dr. Christian Mohrdieck, Director Fuel Cell at Daimler AG:
“Everything is in place for the market launch of electric vehicles with fuel cell. Today the technology is ready for series production and the H2 refuelling station network is constantly expanding. Thanks in great part to the concrete action plan put together by our H2 Mobility Joint Venture, hydrogen is on track to become an increasingly viable option for everyday mobility. This year we are taking the next step to long-distance e-mobility in the premium segment with the world premier of our latest model based on the Mercedes-Benz GLC. '

Nikolas Iwan, Managing Director of H2 Mobility Deutschland GmbH:
'Germany is on the way to becoming the lead player in the field of hydrogen-powered electromobility. With our first 100 stations, we are in the process of building the backbone of a nationwide hydrogen infrastructure, regardless of how many fuel cell vehicles are currently on the road. In keeping with the rise in the number of vehicles, we are looking to commission up to 400 stations by 2023. H2 Mobility is a company with a globally unique selling point. Our priority is to build and reliably operate stations in those places customers will need them in future.

More information
Additional information on the various companies as well as photos of the new hydrogen stations in Frankfurt and Wiesbaden are available on the internet:

The Clean Energy Partnership – an alliance of 20 companies – is committed to making hydrogen the 'fuel of the future'. With Air Liquide, BMW, Bohlen & Doyen, Daimler, EnBW, Ford, GM/Opel, H2 Mobility, Hamburger Hochbahn, Honda, Hyundai, Linde, OMV, Shell, Siemens, Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen SSB, TOTAL, Toyota, Volkswagen and the Westfalen Group, this trailblazing project brings together technology, oil and energy companies and most of the big names in car manufacturing as well as the top public transport companies. CEP has received funding under Germany’s National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP) since 2008. www.cleanenergypartnership.de

About H2 Mobility

H2 Mobility Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG is responsible for the nationwide rollout of a hydrogen infrastructure for fuel cell passenger cars in Germany. Its first goal up to 2018 is to commission 100 stations in seven German metropolitan regions (Hamburg, Berlin, Rhine-Ruhr, Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and Munich) and along the major trunk roads and motorways. By 2023, it plans to have up to 400 hydrogen fuelling stations – the world's largest H2 network – securing supplies throughout the country. H2 Mobility is driving operations forward at all levels, including network planning, authorisation, procurement, installation and commissioning.

In the 2016 financial year, The Linde Group generated revenue of EUR 16.948 bn, making it one of the leading gases and engineering companies in the world, with approximately 60,000 employees working in more than 100 countries worldwide. The strategy of The Linde Group is geared towards long-term profitable growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business, with forward-looking products and services. Linde acts responsibly towards its shareholders, business partners, employees, society and the environment in every one of its business areas, regions and locations across the globe. The company is committed to technologies and products that unite the goals of customer value and sustainable development.